07/04/2008 - Bury 2 Notts County 1
It was Comply or Die that strode away from its rivals in the famous final furlongs at Aintree to win the Grand National on Saturday.
The Magpies, too, were hoping to pull away from their relegation rivals with a win at Bury. But after defeat at Gigg Lane, it's do or die for the Magpies. It's that simple - and stark.
They were seven points clear of the relegation zone, following last Saturday's goal-less derby draw against Mansfield at Meadow Lane. It gave them breathing space in the scrap for survival. But it was short-lived.
Notts County are just three points above the Football League trapdoor now, and the heat is well and truly back on Ian McParland's side ahead of tomorrow night's trip to face play-off-chasing Rochdale at Spotland.
It was always going to be a significant game, even if the Magpies had beaten the Shakers. But it is even more so now.
Goalscorer Danny Crow described it as a must-win game following the last-gasp defeat on Saturday. And, of course, victory would lift them above the likes of Dagenham and Chester. It would give them a huge boost going into Saturday's home game against Accrington - where victory is a must.
But the Rochdale game is one they cannot now afford to lose. The shadow of the unthinkable would loom even larger over Meadow Lane if they did. It was a cruel end at Gigg Lane. Notts never deserved to lose the game. But, then, they never deserved to win it either.
McParland kept faith with the same side that produced a lacklustre first half display against the Stags, before stirring in the second half. And it was the same story again against the Shakers.
The Magpies were poor in the opening 45 minutes, before improving after the half-time break. There was no tempo or urgency in their play. No one appeared comfortable taking responsibility to carry the fight to the home side and make something happen.
Again, they lacked any cutting edge - their fatal flaw throughout the season. The contrast between the two sides could not have been greater.
With their Football League status secure, Bury swept forward with a confident freedom at every opportunity.
Winger Nicky Adams was in terrorising form and striker Adam Rooney was the greatest threat throughout.
He forced Russell Hoult into a magnificent save, with a powerful effort a minute before he broke the deadlock with a clinical finish from inside the penalty area to become the first player to beat Hoult in five games. The fact he was a player McParland tried to bring to Meadow Lane on loan earlier in the season rubbed salt into the wound.
Notts were edgy and disjointed and Jay Smith and Gary Silk were outplayed and outfought in the centre of midfield. The only attempt they created in the first half was when an effort from Ryan Jarvis was blocked on the edge of the penalty area and fell to leading scorer Richard Butcher, who fired the rebound badly wide. There was more misery when captain Adam Tann limped off with a leg injury that could rule him out of the trip to Rochdale.
The Magpies left the pitch to a chorus of boos from nearly 400 fans who had made the trip to the North-west.
There were more boos as McParland replaced Butcher with Myles Weston just over ten minutes into the second half. Jason Lee also came off the substitutes' bench for the ineffectual Jarvis.
Crow finally gave them reason to cheer when he ended his barren run midway through the second half. He scored his first goal in seven league games, with a cool and clinical finish after Smith had sent him through and into the penalty area. He will need to do much more of the same if he is fire the club to safety in the final five games.
McParland was unable to contain his joy and ran out on to the pitch. At the end, he was unable to contain his anger and disappointment at the way his side surrendered a draw and a precious point in the dying embers of the game.
The defending was poor as Elliott Bennett cut in and squeezeed the ball across goal. Hoult dived at his near post in an attempt to block the ball, but it rebounded into the path of ex-Magpies striker Glynn Hurst and he reacted quickest to prod it into the net from point-blank range.
Hurst, of course famously scored a hat-trick for Notts at Bury in a 3-2 win in 2005. His late strike just might go down as an infamous goal if the Magpies fall out of the Football League.